Strikers Nathan Hierlihy and Jeffrey Brandon each scored a goal in a span of a minute in the first half to lead Redondo past San Pedro, 2-1, in the quarterfinals of the San Pedro Pirate Cup boys soccer tournament Saturday night.

Hierlihy was left in a one-on-one match-up with the goalkeeper after a Pirate defender had trouble clearing the ball midfield. Hierlihy had no trouble getting it past the keeper to put the first point on the board.

A minute later, Brandon also found himself with only the goalie to beat and he capitalized.

The Sea Hawks went into halftime with only two shots on goal, both of them being goals.

“The two goals gave us a lot of confidence and energy,” head coach Ignacio Lopez said. “We played better with the lead and allowed to play pressure-free.”

Lopez was satisfied with the performance of his strikers, particularly Hierlihy and Alex Matei.

“I’ve been working on that chemistry and it’s really working. We’ve been getting results,” Lopez said.

San Pedro showed life in the second half when Miguel Espinoza was able bring the deficit to one. Espinoza was found wide open on a set-piece cross.

The Pirates struggled to create scoring opportunities in the second half despite controlling possession.

Head coach Paul Butterfield knew that allowing the two goals so quickly, hurt his team.

“It killed us. It was just a quick breakdown,” he said.

Redondo will face Birmingham next week in the semifinals. Milikan and San Fernando will play in the other semifinal match.

Earlier in the day, the Sea Hawks defeated Palisades in a penalty shootout to advance to quarterfinals. They were down early as they allowed a goal in the fourth minute.

Matei found the back of the net in the 60th minute to tie the game and send Redondo into penalties.

San Pedro had defeated North Hollywood earlier in the day, 2-0. It was able to capitalize when North Hollywood fell to 10 men after a red card was issued.

“We played well, we won, but it wasn’t much more of a quality win for us,” Butterfield said.

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